THE LION DOESN'T SLEEP TONIGHT
by Chick Feed
Summary: Set in the "Angelverse" : A young woman is running for her life. Fortunately (for her at least) her path takes her directly past the headquarters of Angel Investigations, and Cordelia already knows she is coming their way. Set in S2. Case fic. Please see author's note expaining why I am publishing here.
1. Chapter 1

**Dedicated to the memory of Andy Hallet  
****He was a genuinely lovely guy and the world is a sadder place for him leaving. A stupid tragedy that needn't have happened. RIP Andy, I will always think of you when I look at my butterfly shoes.**

_A.N. I usually write for the Supernatural community. However, I decided to have a change on this occasion, hence my first attempt at a short "Angel" story. I hope I have managed to do the characters justice. _**Also**_, I apologise for publishing this first chapter here, but it would appear that the dedicated "Angel" site has not been active for a couple of years._

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**THE LION DOESN'T SLEEP TONIGHT**

-1-

"Angel? I'm sorry, I've no wish to disturb your...er...brooding, but we, that is Cordelia and I...We thought you ought to know, there's a client heading this way."

Angel gave a very human sigh. He liked Wesley, the self proclaimed Rogue Demon Hunter, he really did. Despite his short comings, the man always tried his best, even if his best often resulted in chaos for those around him. Angel could see that, given the opportunity, Wesley actually had a great deal of promise. And Cordelia? Who was more human than Cordelia? Feisty, funny, passionate and totally unpredictable; she had accepted the visions left to her by Doyle as being just another one of those things in her crazy life, despite the pain that came with them. Cordelia kept him grounded and, although he wouldn't say so to her face, the way she accepted her lot? Rolled with whatever life threw at her? In Angel's opinion, Cordelia was a true hero. So, yeah, he enjoyed having them around, mostly. It was just, well, they both had this insidious way of eating into his brooding time...like right now.

Angel sat himself up from where he had been laying, hands behind his head, on his bed.  
"Great. So...Can't you or Cordy do the meet and greet, find out what they need?"  
Wesley cleared his throat.  
"Not really. When I said a client was heading this way, what I meant was that there's a young woman who appears to be running for her life. She's due to run right past, unless someone is there to intercept her. Cordelia has had one of her vision things, she sent me to get you. Whatever is wrong, this young woman clearly needs our help."

To all intents and purposes, the streets in the area were deserted. Angel lifted his head slightly and closed his eyes momentarily before turning to look at Wesley.  
"She's coming and she's exhausted. There's something behind her, catching up."  
"What is it? "  
Angel shook his head as he began striding in the direction his vampiric senses told him the woman was going to appear from.  
"Not sure. It smells kinda familiar though. Just be ready to get the girl inside."

Angel drew a sword out from under his coat. Neither a long sword nor a normal length single handed sword, his chosen weapon was commonly referred to as a bastard sword, but Angel handled it as though it were no more than a lightweight fencing foil. He quickly stepped into the dark shadows in the lea of a wall and readied himself. No sooner was he hidden from view, then the terrified young woman came running around the corner. She slewed to a stop, looking left then right, before forcing herself to run again, heading straight toward Wesley. Wesley saw the tears streaming down the young woman's face, saw her stagger as she finally spotted him.  
"Please...help me!"  
Wesley hurried to the woman's side, snaking an arm around her waist to support her.  
"Quickly, this way."  
Without any hesitation the woman allowed herself to be lead by Wesley, stumbling alongside him as he ushered her off the street.

As the frantic young woman passed him and ran on toward Wesley, Angel had stepped out of the shadows, sword at the ready, and planted himself on the sidewalk ready to face whoever, or whatever, appeared from around the corner in pursuit of the girl.

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**A.N. Given that this is a Buffyverse site, I will only continue this Angelverse story if reviewers think I should. Please let me know?**

**Chick xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**For Avalonemyst**

**- 2 -**

Cordelia was already stood holding the door open when Wesley and the girl appeared. She beckoned at them to get a move on.  
"Come on. Hurry, inside."  
By this point the stranger was leaning heavily on Wesley, gasping for breath and clearly at the end of her strength. Cordelia added her support and together she and Wesley quickly guided the panic stricken young woman down into Angel's inner sanctum.

Angel's expression remained impassive as an impressively large and completely naked, but very human looking, man rounded the corner, grinding to a halt when saw Angel blocking his path.  
"Kinda in a hurry there friend. Also, the night air a little chilly for you?"

The man cocked his head to one side and took a couple more steps toward Angel. As he did so, the glow of a street light bounced and reflected off his eyes, just as it would a cat's. Hearing a low rumble start deep in the man's throat, Angel gazed at the man thoughtfully, at the same time carefully moving himself into a fighting stance.  
"Here kitty, kitty?"

Holding both arms out from his sides, the man flexed his fingers and thumbs. Angel watched as the man's nails grew and transformed into very long and extremely sharp looking claws.  
"Great."

Angel's mutter seemed to act like a starting gun, and the speed at which the creature ran at him took Angel by surprise. As he gathered himself, the thing suddenly leaped high into the air, swooping clear over the vampire's head. Angel span around in time to see the creature land softly and immediately pick up running again. Swift and graceful the creature cornered at 90 degrees and entered a darkened alley, one which Angel knew to be a dead end. Himself moving faster than it was possible for any human to match, Angel followed.

Despite his own speed, as Angel raced into the alley, he knew without a doubt that the creature had gone. Angel stood and contemplated the twenty five foot high wall which blocked the bottom of the alley. The creature had to have either jumped or climbed in order to get away. Either way, it was an impressive feat.

Sheathing his sword, the vampire turned and headed back home to join the others, curious to find out just what was so interesting about the young woman the creature was hunting.

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**_A.N. Carry on? Yes? No? Maybe? :^l_**


	3. Chapter 3

**- 3 -**

The newly rescued female was sat in an armchair sipping at a mug of tea. Cordelia had sat herself on the arm of the chair and was hovering over their guest like a broody hen. Wesley was already sat at the PC hard at work. All three looked up when Angel walked in. As usual, it was Cordelia who voiced everyone's question.  
"Did you get it?"  
Angel removed his sword, laying it on the dining table.  
"No."  
At Angel's response, the new girl promptly began sobbing. Cordelia put an arm around the young woman's shoulders and the girl buried her head into Cordelia's side, still sniffling and sobbing. Cordelia's head tilted and she raised her eyebrows as she glared at Angel.  
"But you will...Won't you!"  
It wasn't a question and Angel had no trouble picking up on Cordelia's underlying warning. He framed his answer to project complete confidence for the benefit of the distraught stranger.  
"Obviously...No problem."  
The girl lifted her head out of Cordelia's side and turned her tear stained face to look at Angel. Cordelia stepped in.  
"Maria, this is Angel. Angel, Maria. See? I told you we could help. Sadly, we're all used to dealing with this kind of thing...Not that this is my job! I'm actually an actress. I only work with these guys as a kind of...voluntary charity thing. More tea?"

Wesley beckoned Angel over.  
"I think I've found what we're dealing with here, based on the description Maria has been able to provide. I think it's a..."  
"Chimaera. I know."  
Wesley looked a little deflated.  
"Oh. Well then. In that case you won't need me to tell you how to defeat it."  
Angel couldn't stop his small smile at Wesley's disappointment. He pulled up a chair and sat himself down at the opposite side of the computer desk to Wesley.  
"Actually, I've never run into one before, so any information you've got will be useful."  
Angel turned his head to Maria.  
"Maria, have you any idea why this thing was stalking you? It might help us to track it down."  
To the surprise of both Angel and Wesley, Maria turned a stunning shade of red and lowered her gaze.  
"He...it...he said he wanted to...to...Oh God. It wanted to mate with me!"

Cordelia immediately stopped pouring milk into the fresh tea she was making for the girl and stared across at her.  
"He wants to...? Eww!"  
Cordelia hurriedly took Maria's fresh tea across to her, a look of fascinated curiosity now on her face.  
"So...er...what did it look like?"  
Maria shook her head." I don't know about this Cumorria thing..."  
"Chimaera."  
"Yeah, whatever. All I saw when he grabbed hold of me was a very large, very muscular and very _naked_ man."  
Cordelia's interest grew.  
"Naked huh? Was he, you know...good looking?"  
Maria frowned.  
"Does it matter? The Psycho came out from behind a bush, got hold of my arm, sniffed me up and down for chrissake, then said he was going to mate with me! No way I was going to hang around to check out his..._credentials_! I told him I'd take him to my place if he let go of me. As soon as he did, I started running. Wanna know the really scary thing? He never seemed to move above walking pace, but no way could I shake him off."  
Wesley hit a button on the PC.  
"Whilst it may have been in the form of a man when you saw it, Chimaera's are shape shifters, similar to Werewolves except it's animal form looks like this."

Cordelia and Maria both went over to look at the sketched image which Wesley had put on screen. Cordelia's eyes opened wide as she looked from the picture to Maria and back again to the picture. Maria herself gasped and clamped a hand over her mouth as she staggered back. Thinking she was about to collapse, Angel was immediately at her side and supporting her with one arm around her waist.

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**_Thank you for reading. Next chapter asap._**

**_Chick xx_**


	4. Chapter 4

A.N_. Just so you know, I have used some artistic license when creating the "baddie." Also, I feel like sitting with my arms crossed and bottom lip stuck out while __**not**__ typing C5 without some kind of feedback on whether it's ok so far. This probably qualifies as a ransom demand, but other than my friend _Avalonemyst_, I can't tell if it's going ok for folk or not. :9 Please help!_

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**- 4 -**

"Maria? You ok?"  
"No..I...I think I'm going to..."  
She wasn't able to finish her sentence before she heaved and vomited down Angel's coat. Angel looked over Maria's head towards Cordelia, his eyes silently pleading for help. Cordelia simply curled her lip and gave a short _pshew_ noise, making it very clear that she regarded this as Angel's own mess to clean up. Angel silently mouthed _thanks_ as he stepped away from the still heaving girl with a grimace. Maria shakily straightened up.  
"Oh God! I'm so sorry!"  
"No problem, really. It's ok. It's leather. I'm, er, I'm sure it'll wipe clean. I'll just go and...you know."

Wesley tried to hide his smile as Angel backed away from the embarrassed young woman and hurried off to his room to remove his favourite coat. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, Maria stared again at the image of the Chimera, unable to fully comprehend what she was seeing. The illustration depicted what, for the most part, appeared to be a fully grown lion. However, in place of the usual lion's tail, the drawing showed the body and head of a snake; it's jaws opened wide to reveal vicious looking fangs dripping with venom. The lion's hind legs seemed to be those of a goat.

Maria felt bile burning in the back of her throat as she stared at Wesley and Cordelia.  
"This is some kind of stupid joke, right? You don't seriously expect me to believe that psycho guy can turn into that...do you?"  
Cordelia glanced at Wesley before turning to look directly at Maria, her expression serious.  
"Honey...we're not joking around. Things like this do exist, and we make it our job to stop them hurting people like you. You have to trust us Maria. We can, and will, protect you. I promise."  
"Protect me? How? When you are all clearly insane? Christ I need a drink. And before you ask, I don't mean friggin' tea!"  
Cordelia narrowed her eyes. Wesley quickly jumped in.  
"That sounds like an excellent idea. Whiskey alright with you? Cordelia, could I trouble you..?"  
Cordelia turned her back on Maria.  
"My pleasure."

Maria plonked herself down in an armchair, her gaze following Cordelia's retreating back.  
"Great. That's two of you guys I've managed to upset so far! It's not that I'm not grateful. Hell you, _all_ of you, saved my ass out there. I'm just a little freaked...you know?"  
Wesley smiled warmly at the girl.  
"You haven't upset Angel and believe me, if Cordy were really put out, you'd know about it! Look, the three of us? We constantly face creatures you couldn't even dream of. Sometimes we forget that most people, thankfully, are never aware of the things which we ourselves accept so casually. Cordelia is telling you the truth though. We will protect you and we _will_ deal with the Chimera."

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Helloooo...anybody out there?

Chick xx


	5. Chapter 5

_A.N. I give in. Here's chapter 5_ :D**  
**

**- 5 -**

It didn't by-pass Maria's gaze when Angel returned that he had changed clothes and his hair was damp. Clearly he held the view that being vomited on merited a full shower. Maria felt the flush of embarrassment return. Still, no amount of shame could stop her gaze from following Angel as he walked over to Wesley. Wearing a white long sleeved tee with black jeans, he was rating high on her eye candy scoring. Her appreciation, however, was interrupted by the appearance of a glass tumbler of whisky pointedly blocking her line of sight.

"Don't even think about going there. He's strictly a look but don't touch kinda deal."  
Maria looked up at Cordelia as she accepted the drink.  
"Oh...right. Are you and he..?"  
Maria was surprised at Cordelia's expression, a mixture of horror and amusement.  
"Oh my God. No! Sooo much no!"  
Maria lowered her voice to a whisper.  
"So, he's gay? Is he with Wesley?"  
Cordelia stalled.  
"Oh crap. Thanks for the image. _Gross!_ No, he's not gay and neither is Wesley...At least...I don't think Wesley is...Nahh. That's just his prissy accent."  
"So how come he's apparently off the menu?"  
Cordelia snorted and choked on her mouthful of whisky.  
"Menu? That's a good one! No, really. It's a long story. Just take my word for it girl, he's not up for grabs, better you get over it and look somewhere else."

Sometimes his heightened auditory senses meant that Angel had to work at appearing not to have heard other people's conversations as clearly as if they were speaking directly to him. But even _he_ had to work particularly hard to shrug off the creepy thought of himself and Wesley being _together_. It wasn't that he hadn't had his past experiences of same gender sex. Hell, even he and Spike had...But, this was, well..._Wesley!_

Angel shook his head, clearing the unwanted visuals and turning his focus back to the job at hand.  
"So. What do I need to do to kill this thing?"  
Wesley glanced up from his research.  
"It seems straight forward actually. Any weapon made of brass will suffice. I believe we have a rather attractive brass short sword in the weapons cabinet that should do the job admirably."  
"Alright then. That's that side of things taken care of. Now, what about this guy's speed? Anything we can do to slow this sonovabitch down at all?"  
Wesley's eyes widened.  
"Oh...Am I right in assuming that's how he got away the first time?"

Angel strummed his fingers on the desk top and nodded.  
"This guy's fast Wes. At _least_ as fast as me and heights don't phase him. He managed to get over a 25 foot high wall with no problems. If there's any way we can hinder him, any way at all, it would make for a useful advantage."  
"Right. Leave it with me. I'm sure I can come up with something to help. Of course, another thing that could be quite beneficial in this whole endeavour, would be some vague clue as to where the beast might be holed up."

Angel tilted his head slightly and held a hand up, signalling Wesley to quiet down.  
"Actually, I don't think that's gonna be much of a problem for us."  
"What? Why not?"  
"Well, judging by the sound of the roar I just heard, I'd say he's currently on the sidewalk right outside the building."

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**If you're liking it, it would be great to know!  
**


	6. Chapter 6

_A.N. Sorry it's been so long since posting. I'll be quicker from here as I'm hoping to be able to complete before 2013!_

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**- 6 -**

Wesley stood up.  
"Well. If that's the case I'd better find something to slow him down fairly quickly then."  
Cordelia heard Wesley push his chair back. Turning her attention from Maria, she watched as Wesley hurriedly made his way towards the bookcase which held a good number of antique and rare books, both reference books and ancient journals alongside books of spells, rituals and enchantments. At the same time, Angel very purposefully strode across to the weapons cupboard. Cordelia sighed and turned back to Maria, her expression calm, but serious. As soon as Maria spotted the look on Cordelia's face, she felt a surge of anxiety.  
"Look. Maria. It seems like something's happening. It's probably a good time to get you to somewhere safe...ok?"  
Maria began to visibly tremble.  
"I thought I _was_ somewhere safe! He...it...it knows I'm here, doesn't it? Why won't it leave me alone? Why is it targeting me? What've I done wrong?"  
Before Cordelia could form any reply, Angel answered Maria's questions as he unlocked the weapons cabinet.  
"You're menstruating. He can smell the blood."

Maria looked mortified. Cordelia glared at the back of Angel's head.  
"Gee! Tell it like it is big guy."  
Angel glanced back at the two women and shot a brief apologetic smile at Maria.  
"Cordy...Here. Brass can kill it. Take these, and then I want you and Maria down in the sewer system."  
Maria let out a choked,  
"The sewers?"  
Cordelia gave the girl a tight smile.  
"It's not as bad as it sounds, honest."

Cordelia went to Angel and took the pistol crossbow he held out to her along with a small quiver holding a dozen brass headed bolts. She looked up at him and Angel could see worry clearly signalled in her eyes. Not fear. It took more than a moth-eaten cross-breed lion to frighten Cordelia. She'd lived too many years on a Hell Mouth to let old Goat Legs scare her, it was just...

Angel recognised the source of Cordelia's concern and he gave her one of his all too rare genuine smiles.  
"It's just a precaution Cordy. I'm sure you'll have no reason to use them. Wes and I will be fine. Just stay in the sewers and look out for Maria until either me or Wesley come to get you...Ok?"  
A wide smile lit Cordelia's face and she saluted Angel.  
"Yes, Boss. _Hey!_ I guess at least if she pukes all over again, it won't matter any down there...right?"  
No one needed heightened senses to hear the sudden crash and splintering of wood from upstairs. Angel gave Cordelia a short nod.  
"Go."  
"Be careful."  
Cordelia turned and headed to Maria. Grabbing the girl by one arm, she firmly hauled her up from the armchair.

"Time to go girlfriend. Unless you want to be kitty's new squeaky toy."  
Maria whimpered, her eyes tearful and fixed on the weapons Cordelia carried. Cordelia gave an exasperated sigh.  
"They're just in case, but I _will_ prod you with one of these pointy things if you don't get moving! Come on."  
Ignoring the young woman's distress for the time being, Cordelia very determinedly yanked Maria after her as she quickly lead them down to the sewer entrance.

Angel grabbed hold of a short sword with an ornately etched brass blade. About to close the cabinet door again, he paused. Reaching back inside, he withdrew a large double headed battle axe. In his experience there wasn't much that didn't slow down, for a little while anyway, when the head was removed.  
The creature's progress was easy enough to track. The sounds of destruction along with the angry roars and growling pretty much gave it's whereabouts away. Angel hurried to where Wesley was madly flipping through spell books.  
"No pressure here Wes, but any time soon would be great."  
"Really? And yet here I am, just casually browsing and fooling around pointlessly. Silly me!"

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**Reviews help me think :D**

**Chick x**


	7. Chapter 7

_A.N. Waddya mean write another? _This_ one's givin' me headache! __**;D**_

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**- 7 -**

Angel looked around. Spotting a large, heavy, carved wooden chest, he strode over to it. Lifting one end he dragged it across to Wesley's desk and pushed it so that it stood in front of the desk; effectively stopping anything from being able to see straight under the desk top.  
"Wesley. Get yourself hidden on the floor back here while you find something to help."  
Wesley looked at the barrier Angel had created.  
"Angel. Whilst I appreciate your efforts, that thing will know I'm there just by scent alone."  
"Probably, but I'm planning on keeping it too busy to start worrying about you. If I can keep it occupied, hopefully you'll have enough time to come up with something."  
"And if I don't?"  
"Try hitting it with your book?"  
There was the sound of shattering glass along with furniture being haphazardly flung around, bouncing off walls and floors; another door shredded into kindling, another roar of fury as the beast made it's way closer to where the vampire and the man waited. With a half smile on his face, Wesley looked briefly at Angel.  
"I think we need a bigger book!"

Angel groaned in mock sufferance as Wesley, clutching onto two books of magic, hurried off to take cover behind the desk. There was the sound of metal clanging and chains rattling and chinking as they swung and twisted around each other - _The Lift -_ Angel took up a guard position and focused all his attention on the suddenly very flimsy looking door before him.

For a moment there was silence, broken only by the sound of swiftly turning pages as Wesley continued his desperate search. Angel took the opportunity to centre himself, adjusting his stance and taking a few wholly unnecessary deep breaths. From the outside came the clear sounds of something large snuffling and sniffing along the bottom edge of the door, swiftly followed by a deep throated, rumbling growl and the sound of oversized claws scratching experimentally down length of the door.

"Wesley?"  
"Yes...I hear it."  
The whole door suddenly shuddered on it's hinges as something very solid hit against it from the other side.  
"Any chance you could read faster?"

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Next Chapter later today.  
Chick xx


	8. Chapter 8

_A.N. Another chapter as promised when I last posted at stupid o'clock this morning, hope this keeps your hunger at bay Afan!_

* * *

**- 8 -**

"How can you be so sure we'll be safe down here?"  
Maria was following Cordelia further into the tunnels of the sewerage system. Her voice bounced back off the curved brick walls with a slight echo. No way had she expected the tunnels to be so roomy and relatively clean. Not that it wasn't a relief. Her image before actually getting down here had been of herself and Cordelia having to drag themselves on their stomachs through a constant stream of human effluence. Cordelia shone her torch left then right at an intersection, deciding which direction to take.  
"Well. For one, Snakeass has to get past Angel and Wesley first, so we've got a good head start on him even if he does find the entrance and come after us. Also, if he _did_ happen to come close, he'll find we're armed and mighty dangerous when I shoot his flea bitten hide full of brass."  
"You sound pretty confident. Do you know how to even use that thing?"  
Cordelia glanced back over her shoulder at Maria.  
"Duhh!"

One more hit and Angel knew the door was going to surrender. Wesley's head suddenly popped up from behind the desk.  
"I think I've got someth..."  
The door gave up. As it tore away from it's hinges and flew inwards to crash land on the floor, Angel vaguely wondered how much it would cost to replace it with a nice, solid, metal one?

The Chimera stood in it's human form. It glared at Angel, bearing it's teeth before throwing it's head back and howling long and loud. In his peripheral vision Angel caught the movement of Wesley sticking his head slowly up from behind the desk again in order to get a look at the creature, then hurriedly retreating back down and out of view. Angel cocked his head to one side, his expression impassive as he met the Chimera's unblinking stare.  
"You ready to play Tiddles?"  
The Chimera bent at the knees a fraction, then leapt toward the vampire.

There was only a distance of around 15 yards from the doorway to where Angel grounded himself, but that's all it took for the creature to shift from human to it's animal form in mid-air. Angel sidestepped, ducking slightly as he realised that the creature's momentum was going to take it right over his head. He thrust his sword up, angling for the blurred gold of the creature's flank. He felt the tip of the sword brush along it's course pelt as the Chimera twisted in mid-air to avoid the blade. Angel grunted as something hit him on the back, hard enough to unbalance the Vampire. The Chimera landed sure footedly, whilst Angel stumbled, a fierce pain suddenly flooding through his right shoulder as something grabbed hold of it, yanking Angel towards the roaring creature - _Shit...idiot move fella! -_ Angel internally berated himself as he half twisted towards the source of the pain, arcing the machete down across the neck of the Chimera's snake headed tail. With a high pitched scream the snake withdrew it's fangs from the vampire's shoulder and began to weave and thrash around, a deep gash across it's neck spurted dark green ichor. Angel didn't waste time watching, immediately turning his body back toward the front of the now furiously howling Chimera and, at the same time, sweeping his sword in a lateral arc, just in time to block an attack from one of the creatures front paws.

For a brief moment, Chimera and vampire stepped back away from one another; each eyeing the other, weighing up their adversary. The snake tail continued to screech and flail seemingly independently of the rest of the creature. Angel noticed blood beginning to mat the Chimera's fur on one foreleg where his blade had hit. He also noticed something else, he was beginning to feel decidedly dizzy, and a searing heat seemed to be spreading down the length of his sword arm and across his chest, emanating from the bite on his shoulder. Angel knew he was in trouble - _Gimme something soon here Wes_ - as the venom from the snake bite began to spread through him.

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_Pleeeease - Review? Just a little one? Or even a teeny weeny one? I'll accept totally microscopic if that's all anyone has time for! :O**  
**_


	9. Chapter 9

_A.N. Planning on, hopefully, posting chapter 10 later today._

* * *

**- 9 -**

Wesley grimaced, the high pitched noises coming from the Chimera causing an almost physical pain in his ears. Striving to ignore the battle occurring beyond his hiding place, he directed his focus on to beginning to read aloud the complex Latin of the spell that he was hoping against hope would work on the Chimera and so give Angel the advantage he needed.

The Chimera raised it's head a fraction, seeming to sniff the air around Angel. With a roar like thunder the creature raised up onto it's hind legs before charging the Vampire. Angel only had the time to realise that the Chimera had begun to move, then creature was suddenly already on him. Swiping the vampire with one paw, he knocked Angel to the floor. Angel grunted as he felt the creature's claws rake across his chest. His reactions slowed by the poison coursing through his body, Angel couldn't move away quickly enough to avoid the creature pinning him to the floor, a giant paw holding down each of his arms. Angel desperately tried to free his sword arm as the creature threw it's head back in a howl of victory. Opening it's maw wide, Angel had a close up view of the Chimera's long yellowed fangs as it lunged it's head down towards Angel's face, intent on going in for the kill and tearing out the vampire's throat.

"How much further are we going? It's getting kinda stinky down here, and cold."  
Cordelia couldn't disagree, Maria was right. This far along the sewer tunnels there was growing evidence of their function and Cordelia had been trying to close her mind off to what she and Maria were currently splashing through. Despite her own distaste, Cordelia flashed the girl a sunny smile.  
"Hey...look on the bright side! It'll hide our scent from the walking bed throw, assuming it somehow gets past the boys and then down here."  
"Seriously...Do you think it will? Get past them I mean."

Cordelia stopped and turned to face Maria. The girl was noticeably shivering, her arms wrapped tight around herself, her face pale in the light of Cordelia's torch. Cordelia sighed, her smile gone.  
"If, and I stress _if_, that thing comes after us, it means that both Angel and Wesley are dead. There is no other possible way that it _could_ get past them."  
Maria lowered her head. The silence broken only by the sound of the liquid sludge sluggishly making it's way along the centre of the tunnel floor, and the odd scurrying noise made by a sewer rat somewhere nearby. When Maria finally spoke, her voice was no more than a whisper.  
"Angel and the English guy, Wesley, they would go that far? They'd both die? Trying protect us..._me_?"  
Cordelia moved to Maria's side and put an arm around the young woman's shoulder.  
"Hey! Quit with the worrying. Not gonna happen. Now, how about we look for a nice dry ledge or something where we can rest up and get our feet out of this...well, not to put too fine a point on it..._shit_?"

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	10. Chapter 10

_A.N. Chapter 10, as promised._

* * *

**- 10 -**

As the Chimera lunged, Angel desperately pushed up with one shoulder against the weight of the giant paw that pinned it down, managing to move the paw up a fraction. It wasn't much, but it gave him the leeway to jerk his head to one side. The salivating jaws missed their target by a hairs breadth, and Angel vamped out. The creature pulled back for a second attempt. Angel curled his legs up to his stomach and lodged both feet against the Chimera's underbelly. With the additional strength gained from morphing into full vampire mode, Angel swiftly thrust his legs straight, heaving the Chimera's back end high up into the air causing the creature to complete virtually a full back flip as it found itself dislodged and flying away from the Vampire's body. In unison, Chimera and Vampire both rolled and twisted themselves upright, to stand facing each other again. The creature growled deep in it's throat when it saw the change which had come over his supposed prey. Death and fury brimming in his eyes, Angel growled back.

Cordelia and Maria sat huddled together, knees drawn up to their chests, on the narrow brick ledge of a small alcove. Maria broke the silence.  
"Is it just me, or does the light from your torch seem dimmer to you as well?"  
Cordelia looked at the yellow gleam now emanating from their only source of light and sighed.  
"I was kinda hoping you hadn't noticed that."  
Cordelia felt Maria shuffle even closer into her side.  
"So, may...maybe you should turn it off? You know, save it, in case we need to...move for some reason."  
Cordelia nodded and switched the torch off, plunging both girls into inky darkness. There was a couple more seconds of silence, before Cordelia spoke.  
"Guess this puts a damper on playing _I spy _then?"

Angel squatted, knees bent, sword hand lightly resting on the floor, readying himself to move in any direction.  
"Heeere pussy, pussy."  
The Chimera hunched it's muscular shoulders, lowering it's front, it's rear end slowly waving from side to side, taking up the classic pose of a cat stalking it's prey, getting ready to pounce.

"That's it Fluffy...You're about to become cat gut. Let's play."  
Angel hissed and bared his fangs as the two adversaries locked eyes. In that couple of beats of silent challenge, Wesley's voice, reading aloud his incantation, could be heard. The Chimera maintained it's unblinking stare at the vampire, but Angel didn't miss the twitch of the creature's ears as it tuned into the sound of Wesley, or the flare of it's nostrils, and the slight narrowing of it's eyes in which Angel saw the flash of recognition of the other threat hiding close by. Wesley had just become an alternative target.

Angel realised he had to make the first move, had to keep the creature's attention on himself, distract it from the notion of changing it's primary goal and taking Wesley out instead. The Vampire roared his challenge, drowning out the sound of the spell being cast, and launched himself directly toward the Chimera, forcing it into a counter attack. The two supernatural creatures collided.

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**_A.N. If anyone would like to reward me for keeping my promise, _****_I accept reviews as legitimate currency :D_**


	11. Chapter 11

_Kicking Ass_

**- 11 -**

Wesley's training as a Watcher had taught him how to channel certain magic's through his own body. The spell he was currently building also required the caster to have line of sight, in order to be able to clearly identify the spell's target. At the same moment that Angel roared, Wesley stood up from behind the desk, continuing to read as he neared the conclusion of the complicated incantation. He witnessed the moment at which Angel and the Chimera clashed with an audible thud, and he stumbled a little over a couple of words, needing to repeat them.

Wesley stared, trying to make sense of the blurred mass that was the vampire and the Chimera engaged in deadly close combat. Their bodies and limbs too entangled, and moving with such speed, that it seemed impossible to Wesley that he would be able to safely ensure he directed the spell effect at the right target. There was no alternative, he_ had_ to move in closer.

Steeling himself, his heart pounding like a kettle drum in his chest, Wesley stepped out from the miserly cover afforded to him by the desk and wooden trunk, placing himself in full view of the two combatants.

The Chimera had Angel's sword arm gripped between it's teeth and it was shaking the vampire like a rag doll, trying both to force Angel to drop his sword and to tear the arm from it's socket. Blood ran through the creatures teeth, splattering the floor in an arc. Angel himself was furiously hitting the edge of his machete again and again against the Chimera's neck, but seemingly causing little in the way of damage. In the middle of the struggle, the Chimera spotted Wesley.

Lifting Angel up off the floor, the beast gave one, even more violent, shake of it's head and at the same time released it's hold on the vampire's arm, sending Angel sailing through the air. Angel's back crashed forcefully against the wall, making him cry out as he then fell to the floor in an ungainly heap. The Chimera turned the full force of it's gaze on to Wesley, Angel's blood still staining it's fangs.

Now terrified beyond belief, Wesley never-the-less continued his task; although his voice _did_ jolt up an octave or two, and he desperately increased the pace of his incanting as much as he dare whilst still trying to make certain he pronounced the ancient words correctly. He backed slowly away from the snarling beast even though he knew, deep down, that his retreat was close to pointless. As if to reinforce Wesley's insight, the Chimera again hunched down on it's forelegs, intent on lunging at and finishing this human irritation.

It was a race, pitching the speed at which the Chimera could reach Wesley, and the rate at which Wesley could complete the ancient spell. Wesley saw all four of the Chimera's feet leave the ground as it launched itself toward him. He cast his eyes down to the page of his book, only a few more lines. He franticly increased the rate at which he formed the words, his only hope being that he could spit out the last word before his head was ripped from his shoulders.  
**_"_****_Wesley! Get on with it!"  
_**Wesley's head shot up at the sound of Angel's command. To his amazement he saw what he could only think of as his friend desperately, and literally, holding a lion by it's tail.

Angel dumped the useless machete and, despite his injuries, his hand now encircled the snake tail's body in a death grip. Feet planted as solidly as he was able, Angel's body was leant back at almost 45 degrees to the floor. His adrenaline fuelled grab at the Chimera's tail had jerked the creature to a halt in mid leap, and Angel was now putting virtually everything he had into stopping the creature from reaching Wesley. The Chimera did the only thing it could, in a snarling blur of motion it twisted it's body round, intent on finishing Angel.

With a clear target, Wesley stretched out one hand and above the creatures enraged roaring he shouted out the final words of the spell, channelling the power from within himself forcefully towards the Chimera.  
**_"_****_...ego to order vos MUTO!"_**

At that same time, the Chimera reared up onto it's hind legs, dwarfing Wesley, and threw back it's huge head as it's roars turned to howls of anguish and pain. The gigantic creature began to collapse and topple sideways to the floor, it's howls bizarrely being interspersed with the sounds of a goat's distressed bleating. As the Chimera crashed onto it's side, Wesley saw light glint off the handle of a sword, it's blade buried deep into the Chimera's chest. He stood panting and staring in a mixture of horror and fascination as the outline of the Chimera began to twist and warp, it's great size shrinking and morphing; until the thing now finally laying dead in the middle of the room was, in external appearance anyway, the corpse of a goat.

**xxxxxxxxXXXxxxxxxxx**

**_A.N. Anyone still hanging in there?  
_****_Chick xx_**


	12. Chapter 12

**- 12 -****  
**

As Wesley gaped at the body of the goat, his face broke into a wide grin and he pointed at the animal.  
"Did you _see_ that? That was...It was..._Bloody brilliant_!"  
His only answer was a quiet moan. Wesley immediately lost his interest in the still form of the goat and turned toward the sound, instantly concerned when he spotted Angel laying amongst the wrecked debris which formed most of what remained of the contents of the room  
"_Angel!_ Oh my goodness!"

He rushed across to the figure on the floor. As he reached Angel's side, Wesley hesitated, appalled at the state of the vampire who lay, eyes closed, at Wesley's feet. Angel's features had returned to their human form and he appeared to have no marks on his face. His tee however was little more than scarlet shredded strips of cloth. Blood oozed from the criss cross of claw marks that covered Angel's torso. One shoulder was clearly dislocated whilst his other upper arm bore evidence of the snake tail's deep, penetrating bite. Red lines emanating from the bite mark tracked the path of the venom's spread. Angel's whole body was shivering as though he were freezing cold, yet when Wesley put a hand to Angel's cheek, it was clear that his temperature was at fever level.

Wesley knelt down by his friend and gently patted Angel's cheek.  
"Angel? Angel, open your eyes. Come on, please, wake up."  
Angel's head turned slightly as Wesley touched his face and he moaned again.  
"Angel...It's me, Wesley. I need you to wake up now. Do you hear me?"  
"Wes?"  
"Yes...that's right."  
The vampire's eyes half opened and he cast around in a daze, trying to focus on where the voice was coming from, eventually coming to rest on Wesley's worried face.  
"C'mera?"  
Wesley's wide smile returned.  
"Dead."

Angel tried to lift his head from the floor, unable to stop himself from groaning, he gave up.  
"I think it's best if you stay still for a little while. You...well...you're pretty badly hurt."  
Angel licked his lips.  
"Thirsty...Poison."  
Wesley nodded his understanding.  
"Stay still. I'll get you...something. Just try to stay awake."  
Angel sighed and closed his eyes again whilst Wesley left him to retrieve a bag of blood from the fridge.

He returned to Angel, rolling the blood bag between his hands to warm the contents. Squatting down again, he placed himself at the vampire's back and helped Angel to half sit up. Using his own body to support Angel, he held the bag to his friend's lips whilst Angel drank.  
"Feeling any better?"  
"A little...thanks."  
"Do you feel like you could walk if I help you?"  
"Maybe."  
"I suggest we give it a go and get you into your bed. Ok?"

During the painful, staggering journey to the vampire's bedroom, Wesley found himself altering from lending his support to Angel, to shouldering most of his body weight as Angel found it harder and harder to keep moving forward and to stay upright. Angel kept his eyes downcast, and Wesley felt him hesitate briefly as they made their way past the corpse of the Chimera.

"Wes...s'a goat...D'ju sacrifice goat?"  
"No, it's the Chimera."  
Angel looked confused as they stumbled on past the body.  
"Din'know we gotta goat."  
"Angel. It isn't a goat, it's the Chimera. The spell changed it."  
"Cordy gonna be mad...think our goat's dead."  
Wesley gave up.  
"She won't mind. She never liked the goat."

Somehow Wesley managed to stop Angel sagging to the floor whilst he dragged the bedcovers back in order to save them from being ruined by the amount of blood coating Angel. Angel lay his head on the pillow with a sigh of relief. When Wesley returned from rummaging out an old blanket to cover the vampire with, Angel had passed out. Wesley didn't try waking him, instead he headed to the kitchen for water and towels to clean the blood away from Angel's wounds, hoping to be better able to assess the damage. As he gathered what he needed, Wesley pulled out his cell and hit speed dial for Cordelia.

Both women jumped, startled by the sound of Cordelia's ring tone echoing in the tunnel and breaking the silence. Cordelia checked the caller's name.  
"It's Wesley! He and Angel must be ok. Hello? Wes?"  
Wesley heard the ringing stop, but then there was silence.  
"Cordelia? Cordelia, are you there? Can you hear me?"  
Cordelia tried shouting into her phone, groaning when it became clear that although she could hear Wesley intermittently, he couldn't hear her at all. Frustrated, she ended the call and turned to Maria.  
"Well, at least we know it's safe to go back."  
Cordelia began to unfurl her legs, relieved to be to start moving again. She stopped when Maria grabbed her arm. In the dim light of the torch, Cordelia could see Maria's worried frown.  
"Are you sure?"  
"Well, _yes_. Wesley would hardly be ringing if he and Angel were still fighting Felix, would he?"  
" But...What if it's that _thing_, you know, _pretending_ to be Wesley?"  
Cordelia paused, then shook her head.  
"Nahh. That was Wes. Trust me. Come on girl, let's get out of here."  
Maria continued to hang back.  
"He could've been ringing to warn us that it's on it's way down here, couldn't he?"  
"Listen Maria. That was Wesley and that creature is not coming down here to get us. Ok?"  
"How do you know?"  
Cordelia sighed, feeling herself becoming exasperated.  
"I just know..._Alright_?"

As the two women began to re-trace their journey, Cordelia was pretty confident that she _was_ right, but she quietly slotted a bolt into the crossbow any way - J_ust in case._

**xxxxxxxxXXXxxxxxxxxz**

**_A.N. Nearly done now :D  
_****_Chick xx_**


	13. Chapter 13

_A.N.__** Last**__ chapter to quickly finish the story off, just because I'd hate not to have it complete in case anyone reads it. _Had _intended to round everything up properly, but seemed to be little point to doing so. _**Thank you **to **AvaloneMyst** and **Afan. **Sorry to have cut the ending short on you guys.

_All spelling errors etc are my own, just gave this a quick once over before posting._

**- 13 -**

Wesley felt torn between his wish to go down to the sewers to find the two women and get them back safely to the apartment, and his concern for Angel's wellbeing. The decision was made for him when he heard Angel groan in distress from the bedroom. He mentally apologised to Cordelia and Maria, but they would have to wait or return of their own accord. Caring for Angel had just become his priority.

On the bed Angel's head tossed from side to side and he was murmuring incomprehensibly to himself. He appeared to Wesley to be only half conscious. The vampire flinched as Wesley pressed a cool, damp cloth onto his forehead, his eyes fluttered open briefly, but Wesley doubted that Angel had realised that he was there beside him. Pulling back the blanket, Wesley was relieved to see that the wounds across Angel's chest and abdomen had stopped bleeding. He felt fairly confident that the deep gashes would begin to heal comparatively quickly. What worried him more was the snake venom. Wesley had no idea how the venom might effect Angel. He decided that he needed to do some research once he had Angel cleaned up and settled as comfortably as possible. Angel hissed occasionally whilst Wesley worked at cleaning the blood away from the wounds as gently as he was able. At one point, Angel grabbed hold of Wesley's forearm, squeezing it painfully. Wesley maintained a stream of quiet reassurance as he worked, and Angel appeared to respond, becoming stiller and more calm as Wesley spoke. Once the blood was cleaned away, Wesley could clearly see the track marks which blossomed from the punctured skin where the snake had bitten Angel. Most of them were tracking down Angel's arm, but a couple trailed across his chest. Wesley stared at them, pondering. It wasn't as though the venom could stop Angel's heart if it travelled in that direction, it didn't beat anyway.

Wesley gave up attempting to second guess what long term, or even fatal, damage the venom might or might not cause and, instead, turned his attention to the dislocated shoulder. He decided that it might not be the wisest course of action to try to force the shoulder of an unconscious, unforwarned, vampire back into it's rightful place.  
"Angel...Angel?"

Having got no response, Wesley was obliged to pat the cheek of the sleeping vampire. Unfortunately nerves got the better of him and, as a result, he was too gentle, the vampire continued to stubbornly refuse to wake. Wesley drew a deep breath, then tried again, a good deal harder this time. Accompanied by a low growl, Angel's dark eyes blinked open and settled on Wesley. Wesley stammered a little.  
"Er..Angel? It's...it's me, Wesley. Can you hear me?"  
Much to Wesley's relief, the look in Angel's eyes softened and he nodded.  
"Good! That's good. Angel, you have a dislocated shoulder. I'm going to try to put it back. Do you understand?"  
"Ok."  
"It's...probably going to hurt...a bit. Alright?"  
Angel closed his eyes and nodded again.  
"Alright. Go ahead."  
Angel's cry was almost loud enough to wake the dead.

Cordelia drew to a halt and turned to check that Maria was still behind her. When the maglight finally died on them, at Maria's suggestion Cordelia had discovered that her cell could also function as a torch. By it's pale light she could see that Maria was terrified. Cordelia gave her a reassuring smile.  
"Why don't you hang back, let me go in first and check the coast is clear? You can stay close enough to see me and, if I start shooting bolts like a loon, _run_. Ok?"  
Maria shook her head and moved closer to Cordelia.  
"No way. I'm not a fighter like you, but I'm not gonna stand back and let you face that thing alone if it's still in there. I can at least call it some nasty names!"  
Cordelia was genuinely both surprised and impressed.  
"Ok then, on three..."

The women silently and carefully made their way back to the area which was used as an office base, and drew up short when they saw the devastation that had clearly been caused during a fight. They both spotted the body of the goat at the same time, looking at it, then to each other. Maria looked somewhat confused.  
"Is that the _thing_? Or has it been sacrificed?"  
Cordelia stepped closer and spotted the sword still buried deep into the corpse.  
"No...we don't normally sacrifice animals and, see? That's one of our swords. I don't know how come it's a goat, but that has to be the dead Chimera."  
"So, if it is, then were are Angel and Wesley?"

At that moment, they both froze and the blood curdling shout of pain coming from the direction of the bedroom. Cordelia set off toward the sound.  
"That's Angel."  
The pair got to Angel's room in time to see Wesley pulling the blanket back over the vampire. Wesley turned quickly at the sound of their footsteps.  
"Cordelia! Maria. I tried ringing you but I don't think you could hear me. I'm glad you're both safe."  
Cordelia grinned,  
"Same here. How's Angel?"  
A pained voice from the bed answered.  
"I'll be ok...need to rest, need to let the poison leave my system, and _really_ need someone to rescue me and take over from Nurse Wesley here. Oh, one more thing...did anyone else notice a dead goat on the floor in the office?"

**FIN**

**Going back home to the Supernatural site. ****Bye!  
****Chick x**


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